Let’s face it; we are staring at a dystopian future. The world population is ballooning, there are nearly 7.7 billion people inhabiting planet Earth, and by no means is this number on a descending count.
World over, infrastructure is crumbling to meet the demands of a growing populace. To compound that, Greenhouse Gases are choking humankind and threatening their very survival. In certain cities across the globe, the air quality index is at an alarmingly low, unlivable level. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently set a clear target of sometime in the middle of this century, to bring Greenhouse Gases to net zero levels.
It is the collective responsibility of the government's world over to accelerate the transition to a clean and sustainable future or risk the catastrophic effect of rising sea levels, floods and droughts that will result in ecological damage, scarcity of resources and bring the economic engine to a grinding halt.
If not for us, then for the future, this must be fixed.
What the world needs is an efficient transportation system that fits in well to meet the growing mobility demands, yet moves away from carbon and closer to renewables.
The Hyperloop is often touted as the fifth mode of transportation. Contrary to global scepticism, there is enough evidence to support the fact that Hyperloop, when compared to conventional transportation systems, is much more efficient in terms of energy consumption, passenger throughput and time. A feasibility analysis by the US Department of Transportation (DOT) estimates that Hyperloop routes could be up to six times more energy efficient than air travel on short routes, and over three times faster than the world’s fastest, high-speed rail system. We are conducting feasibility studies all over the world and the results are even more encouraging.
The popular perception is that the Hyperloop is all about speed. Well, speed is definitely an advantage, however, what makes the Hyperloop the most efficient transportation system ever invented by mankind cannot be based on a singular matrix for success. The Hyperloop has been designed and built keeping in mind the future mobility needs of mankind, with energy efficacy at its core.
The Hyperloop system works on passive magnetic levitation that uses unpowered loops of wire in the tracks, and permanent magnets in the train pods to create levitation. In contrast, Maglevs uses superconducting magnets or powered electromagnets that require a constant power source and expensive infrastructure upgrades. Utilisation of a passive levitation system eliminates the need for a constant power source along the track. Using the passive levitation technology, the Hyperloop pod containing either passengers or cargo could travel up to 760 miles per hour (mph) through an elevated, airless, and frictionless tube between cities.
The Hyperloop might not provide the solution of a Utopian future, however, it is the answer to an efficient mobility system that promises our future generations that there is still hope.